Great article on the not-very-friendly way software development companies hire engineers.

The entire article is worth your time, my favourite part:

No one ever said, “Here is how we are going to bring your skills to the next level and ensure you will be quickly productive on our team.” The only answer I ever got was, “We expect every employee to be ready on day one.” What a scary proposition! Even McDonalds doesn’t expect its burger flippers to be ready from day one.

Also made me think about how companies that aim for excellence always keep training their employees even when they fear they may leave:

It may be the shortage of software developers worldwide or, like the article says, a “complete paranoia” that drives companies to ask the most convoluted questions to weed out the b-types and aim only to hire the best.

Independently, the attitude should be to hire competent people, and 30 minutes in front of a whiteboard with sweaty hands should not override years of experience.